The Other One *Editing*

Chapter 11 - Jim From I.T.

"Ah John thank goodness your back." Lizzie said as soon as John entered the room. The sudden loud noise caused him to jolt, his coffee almost spilling down his arm. "Your turn to babysit now." She jumped off the stall and skipped out of the room.

Lizzie wondered up and down the hospital, the familiar smell of TCP fresh in ever corridor. As she neared the front of the hospital she found herself in the Kenton and Lucas Wing, minor injuries. Smiling to herself she looked through the window at the few people who were sat in there. A mother and daughter were sat closest to her, the young girl, was sat clutching her arm. Her tear stained face leaning on her mother's shoulder who was reading a tattered magazine. Lizzie could see from the door that the girl had cracked her radius. Judging by her age and the leaves in her hair the injury occurred falling from a tree. It reminded her of when she and her mother had been in the same situation. Lizzie had been four and was climbing after a teen Sherlock. His longer limps had been able to reach high branches than hers and after a while she'd got stuck. Instead of letting her give up Sherlock had tried to pull her up to the next branch. Slipping through his fingers she had fallen down the tree.

A phone buzzing pulled her from her reverie. Checking her lock screen, she saw a text from Mycroft. Under the contact name 'Mikey <3', the message read:

"RE: BRUCE-PARTINGTON PLANS
Any progress on
Andrew  West's death?
Mycroft"

Lizzie rolled her eyes and immediately deleted the text and heading back to the lab. As she neared the room she could hear John and Sherlock discussing the same text she had received. If Mycroft was going to message them the same thing maybe they need a family group chat. Lizzie grinned at this thought and made a metal post-it note to make a group chat asap."His what?" John sighed tiredly as Lizzie entered the room."Dental appointment." Lizzie repeated for John. Nodding her phone towards Sherlock to show she received the same text as he explained for John.

"Mycroft never texts if he can talk. Look, Andrew West stole the missile plans, tried to sell them, got his head smashed in for his pains. End of story. The only mystery is this: why is my brother so determined to bore me when somebody else is being so interesting?" Sherlock return to the microscope, ignoring the glare from John."Try and remember there's a woman here who might die.""What for?" Sherlock said looking at John, unemotional. "This hospital's full of people dying, Doctor. Why don't you go and cry by their bedside and see what good it does them?""Surely solving the case is the best way to help her." Lizzie said, trying to translate Sherlock's cold comment for a disbelieving John.

Before he had the chance to say anything else though the computer beeped. Sherlock delighted, looked at the screen, reading the results. As Lizzie walked round the table to study the results a woman in a lab coat entered the room. "Any luck?"
"Oh yes."Molly, was interrupted from her analysis by another stranger at the door. He was early thirties and wearing a tight white t-shirt."Oh, sorry I didn't..." He said making to turn around when he saw everyone."Jim! Hi!" Molly said grinning at the man and pulling him into the room. "Come in! Come in!"

Sherlock and Lizzie glance over at him making deductions. The only word that seemed to scream from her notes was GAY and she knew Sherlock had noticed too. Begging in her head he wouldn't say anything to hurt this girl, who Lizzie seemed to have decided she liked.
"Jim, this is Sherlock Holmes, and uh sorry..." Molly said looking at John and Lizzie."John Watson, hi.""Hi." Said Jim, like Lizzie he had a distinct London accent."Hey, I'm Lizzie. Sherlock's-." Lizzie started, ready to have to explain everything all over again."Sister! I can see it now! I've heard a lot about you!" Molly said a small smile appearing back on her face. For this first time since he arrived Jim's eyes darted away from Sherlock, a small spark of interest."You have?" John and Lizzie said in confused unison."Yeah," she said puzzled. "He talks about you all the time.""You do?" Lizzie said looking at Sherlock."It would appear so." Sherlock said still looking distractedly at the computer."It's usually while he's thinking he'll say a few things out loud.""Oh really?" Lizzie said one eyebrow raised at Sherlock which clearly said we'll talk about this later.

"So, you're Sherlock Holmes." Jim said bringing the attention back to him. "Molly's told me all about you. You on one of your cases?"
"Jim works in I.T. upstairs. That's how we met. Office romance."
"Gay." Sherlock muttered.
"Sorry what?" Molly said her smile dropping in an instance.
"He said hey." Lizzie said interrupting the argument before it started.
"Hey." Said Jim breaking the silence between them with a loud clatter as his hand knocked a metal dish to the floor. He apologised profusely as he stumbled to pick it up which earned him dagger eyes from Sherlock.  "Well I better be off." Jim said wandering back to Molly. "See you at the Fox, 'bout six-ish?"
"Yeah!" Molly said as he placed a hand on her back turning to look at Sherlock again."Bye."
"Bye." Molly uttered.
"It was nice to meet you." Jim said looking, yet again, at Sherlock.

Apparently oblivious that it was directed at him Sherlock said nothing."You too." John said breaking the awkward silence that was hanging in the air. Jim blinked at him embarrassed before turning and walking out the room. As soon as the door slammed shut Molly turned to Sherlock. "What d'you mean, gay? We're together."
Sherlock glanced across at her before stating "And domestic bliss must suit you, Molly. You've put on three pounds since I last saw you."
"Two and a half."
"Nuh, three." Sherlock said cruelly.
"He's not gay. Why d'you have to spoil...?" Molly stammered, her rage getting to her. "He's not."
Sherlock snorted not noticing the angry glares radiating from everybody in the room. "With that level of personal grooming?"
"Because he puts a bit of product in his hair?" John defended. "I put product in my hair."
"You wash your hair. There's a difference." Snapped Sherlock. "No-no: tinted eyelashes, clear signs of taurine cream around the frown lines, those tired clubber's eyes. Then there's his underwear."
"His underwear?" Molly stuttered."Visible above the waistline- very visible; very particular brand." Sherlock said, reaching for the metal dish that Jim had knocked earlier, pulling a card from underneath. "That, plus the extremely suggestive fact that he just left me his number under this dish here. I'd say you'd better break it off now and save yourself the pain." The room hung in silence for a for moments, soaking up the revelation before Molly ran from the room."Be nice Sherlock." Lizzie said, exhasberrated. "I always tell you to be nice." Lizzie followed Molly out the room.

Walking down a corridor she'd been in earlier Lizzie headed for the nearest toilets. Where, as she had expected, she found Molly crying. Darting into the first cubicle Lizzie got her some toilet roll handing it too her she said. "Here, now come on are you really upset with Jim or with Sherlock first of all."
"I-I I'm not sure." She snuffled. "Both I think."
"Okay well let's focus on Jim for now." She said hopping onto the side, swinging her legs. "I'll deal with Sherly later." She gave Molly a cheeky grin before continuing. "Now you know what you gotta do?" Molly shook her head, tear silently pouring down her face still. "Well first you gotta stop crying cos they ain't worth it. You can do better." Molly gave a sheepish laugh before smiling and wiping her tears away. "After that it's what I like to call classic bastard breakup."
"What?" Molly giggled, snuffling as the tears stopped.
"Bastard break-up. It's my absolute favourite. Go home, make yourself look super-hot, like your best dress full, make-up. Basically, make him see what he's missing then end it."
"How do you know all this?" Molly giggled again. "You're only, seventeen?"
"Well let's just say if you grow up with Mycroft and Sherlock, boys don't tend to stick around too long." Nodding understandingly, Molly turned to Lizzie."You're a lot nicer than them." She smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you Elizabeth."
"Lizzie." She corrected her smiling back. "Nice to meet you too. Now if you're going to be okay I better be getting back."
"I'll be fine." Molly said smiling at her reflection, dabbing at her eyes slightly."Good." Lizzie, hopped off the counter and returned to the lab.

Where she found Sherlock finishing deductions to John. Trailing off slightly he stared across the room. "Carl Powers."
"What?" John said confused, following Sherlock's gaze."Carl Powers." Sherlock repeated, softly."Sorry, who?""Carl Powers, John.""What is it?""It's where he began." Lizzie said knowingly from the door, bringing Sherlock back to Earth.